The other women (in the series) providing advice were royalty in their homelands. Those women were from families whose pursuit of power is natural. They have been around gossiping maids, scheming administrators, conniving nobles, and competing relatives their entire lives. SwordWoman was raised wandering the wilderness wielding a sword while practicing the little-known and rarely-practiced art of chivalry. They surely felt she was a babe-in-the-woods among all the dangerous and hungry prey animals in the palace. And they were correct. They had the king pegged: selfish, vain, temperamental, ambitious, greedy, suspicious, and single-minded in his goal.

SwordWoman felt if she remained true to herself, disinterested in internal politics, she could live happily with the king. She could be his refuge. I think the reason (in the series) he wanted her was the throwback to his childhood memory and when he finally met her again, she wasn't bad looking. She also was a refreshing change from an arranged political marriage, and she was not immediately submissive and yielding. But in the end, SwordWoman's body, mind, love, and trust, were simply 'things' he had to acquire.

It was disappointing to see Assassin choose the burden of the deaths of the general and diplomat, rather than the life of his son, as reasons to continue his mission. After all the blather about family and bloodline, it was just that: blather. He willingly chose to let someone else raise his son.

The ending... the king lost his humanity and could only see himself as a king with a goal of world domination, in the guise of peace-on-earth.

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I recently finished the series and hope it's not too late to join the discussion. It's the best Chinese series I've watched so far - I dropped all Chinese series before and rather stuck to KDramas. I think the in-depth discussion of the drama in this forum only shows how good the drama actually is because people feel the need to discuss its story and characters.

With no expectations at all when beginning to watch the drama, I am positively surprised by the good production quality, the complex plot, the costumes, the martial art and intense slow motion scenes. What I especially like is that characters usually are quick at understanding things and that (agreeing with @rosamundekingsley99_stv) almost every character is given the chance to explain his or her motives and ultimate reasoning to do things so that eventually the line of good and evil is blurred. Although the flash-backs are sometimes overdone and there should be more diversity in song choice for certain events, overall it's a top-notch drama.

Having said this, I hope it's clear that the following criticism about its story and characters is criticism at a high level. I read many comments on the drama and have to agree with @divethereal that one of the biggest logical flaws is Yingzheng not trusting Lier although she comes back to him after she and her son were allowed to live a life outside the palace with Yingzheng not further troubling them. Why would he use Tianming to keep Lier in the palace like in the beginning, it doesn't make sense. Surely, even if he had trusted Lier, he could still have wanted to kill Jingke and use Tianming for power plays.

Another thing which bothers me very much (and many others already commented on it) is the portrayal of Lier's character. Maybe it's a combination of inconsistent writing and not yet highly developed acting skills, I cannot grasp her character so that in the end I don't really know what to think about her. For example, her love to Yingzheng is not really pronounced, if she hadn't told Hanshen that she loved Yingzheng, I wouldn't believe it. I agree with @briaesthat in most scenes her bodylanguage tells that she doesn't truly enjoy his affections and her face is so expressionless or reserved (I'm not really sure how to describe it), it looks like she fakes happiness. It only seems that she is willing to endure his affections. What is more, I am confused about her carrying the scarf Jingke gave her once when she meets him to persuade him to give up his assassination plan. Am I wrong that this scarf symbolizes her love for Jingke?

But the most upsetting part is her reasoning why she should die at the end. As @january1234 states, Yingzheng already lost many people he hold dear throughout his life. Thus, he already knows how it feels, and in his logic he wants to be feared even more to be able protect the people he loves. After reading all the comments I came to the conclusion too that she wants to teach him a lesson that his ruthlessness also makes him lose those very people. But Lier should also know that even her death cannot change his character. She should also know no matter what happens he would never ever give up his plan to unify the country, is she so desperate to die because she cannot watch the upcoming bloodshed happening? By the way, wouldn't the death of your most beloved person naturally make you bitter and even more fierce? And finally, she always wanted to stay alive for the sake of her son Tianming, now her death seems to be in vain and her son will grow up with both parents dead. Why does she do it? Like @rosamundekingsley99_stvnotes it looks like her death should only add a dramatic moment to the series.

Thinking about it again, the last part of the drama shouldn't be about whether she loves him or not/ whether he trusts her or not. Rather, the whole conflict about uniting China to establish peace or acting as a peaceful ruler and defending peace should be more focused on. I feel that at this point, Lier lacks the fighting spirit to counter Yingzheng and argue with him politically. At least she has the influence to actually make him see another side of the story. She complains that she can't do anything because she is a girl but she still has quite some power to make Yingzheng handle conflicts more mercifully than he intended. But instead, she begs in front of him and thinks herself powerless and eventually dies for nothing. I thought that her upbringing would have established this fighting spirit. Moreover, I agree with @rosamundekingsley99_stvthat in this context it would have been more interesting if her inner conflict of hating his actions but being attracted by his intelligent nature and warmth towards her had been more pronounced.

Maybe, Lier's character seems so bland because of Zhang Bin Bin's brilliant acting. He is able to convey intense and complex emotions and makes the viewer emphatize with Yingzheng (agreeing with @dramalover1). I am especially impressed by his acting in the assassination scene. Like the cherry on top, he makes the assassination attempt to Yingzheng's own feast, and even Lier's sacrifice for love and the good of the people bla cannot top this. I'm looking forward to more dramas with him in it.

I'm happy that in this forum the story and characters could be discussed in such detail and I really liked to read the comments which had interesting interpretations and shed light on some aspects (@january1234, @rosamundekingsley99_stv). Thanks!

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Actually i am not into historical dramas especially chinese history coz its kinda complicated and too many characters and dynasties involved and its very difficult to remember and connect the characters at various situations. But this drama was recommended in one of the blogs BREATHELESSURVIVAL which i follow and i wanted to give it a try and sat thru 4 full days watching and finish it at a stretch.

Wow, i was verymuch attracted to the male lead vin zhang and his acting. I have seen him in O2O as KO, which is a very small portion and he was very cute with his male partner. But i did not see this much potential in him. I was in awe after seeing him in this drama. i liked how he portrayed a ruthless tyrant and i couldnt hate him at all even if it was so villainous. I dont know abt the female lead but she was ok. In some emotional scenes, she could have done better. there is always place for improvement so i hope she improves in her acting. But vin zhang- i think sky is the limit for him. jayou!!!!!!!

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I started to watch this movie today and now I'm watchin ep.8 and I really wonder Jing Ke baby will born? or She will lost baby I really really wonder I searched google but I didn't find answer I wanna learn just this I don't like spoi I have too learn this

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I wrote an essay on The King's Woman after watching 21 of the episodes as a way of learning Mandarin:

There was an ancient king who was merciless yet philanthropic, a despot and a visionary, and who shed oceans of blood to bring peace to the world. He was the King of Qin, originally the prince Ying Zheng, and he sought to unite the “entire world” by force.

That is the paradoxical story of unparalleled historical significance that Chinese videos have told me again and again. [Read more]

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I was hesitant to watch this drama because I knew beforehand about the ending, but gladly I did watch it for my love to Bin Bin and Raba, really despite the ending, don’t regret at all watching this series and gonna be among my all time favorite dramas. If I did not know that this drama based on historical facts, I would rate it 8/10 only because I wished the King trusted Li Er , but after knowing its truly that he didn’t trust anyone, did not appoint queen and he was the one who united China, So gonna rate it 9.5/10. The acting was brilliant by Bin Bin, the clothes and styles of The king and Li Er are incredible and probably the best ever I have yet to see! I watched countless Historical chinese & Korean dramas, but love this one so much because it’s unique & will be hardly to be forgotten! It’s almost a straightforward, not complicated plot yet magical & super addicting!
I don’t know why but truly this drama has a magic that Keeps me under its spell & makes it hard for me to move on ! I spent sleepless nights watching this series over 3 days !
Bin Bin & Raba are the most gorgeous Asian couple of 2017 & hands down
Love also the BGM & OSTs..
I would recommend watching this drama for any fans of the leads, historical dramas or Asian dramas. It was a wonderful journey.